


A New Addition

by wellthisisfunguys



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Ranboo, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoptive Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Canon-Typical Violence, Enderman Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Good Friend Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Good Older Sibling Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Good Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Ranboo, Not Canon Compliant, Not the person, Older Sibling Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo has a tail, Swearing, Technoblade Has ADHD (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade is Bad at Feelings (Video Blogging RPF), Winged Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), all this is characters not the ccs, and to Work through their Issues, as canon is made it will diverge, eventually, probably, the character, these boys deserve Good Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28695300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellthisisfunguys/pseuds/wellthisisfunguys
Summary: Phil invited Ranboo to stay with him and Techno. Ranboo and Techno both have a Number of issues. Wholesome shenanigans ensue.Basically a bunch of connected, probably at least mostly chronological, fluff-filled oneshots about found family and friendships and what Ranboo living with Phil and Technoblade could be like. There'll be specific summaries at the start of each chapter as well :)
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Ranboo & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 100
Kudos: 1316
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	1. A Shaky Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranboo and Techno meet for the first time since the second festival.

Technoblade was coming back home today. He’d been away gathering resources for a few days after the festival, but he had most of the stuff he needed to get back to replenish his supplies. It was going to be a long session of potion brewing, but then he’d be able to relax in retirement. As the shifting purple of the nether portal faded into the sharp white of the hills, he stepped forward, and remembered. The favour was still waiting over his head. That was the only thing still lingering. But that wasn’t now, and hopefully wouldn’t be for a while. He shook his head for a second and kept walking.  
Soon enough, the house came into view. Techno pushed the door open, and stopped dead. Someone was in his house. Tensing immediately, he drew his sword, the voices singing and calling to him, every nerve aflame-

“Oh, hi Technoblade,” the figure greeted him. The buzzing and voices gently started to sink down to nothing as he realised it was just Ranboo. He put his sword away, sighed, and realised he hadn’t replied.  
“Uh, hi. You’re in my house?” he managed to say, still processing the rush of adrenaline and emotion that had crashed through him.  
“Oh yeah, Phil said I could stay, not in the house obviously, but I have a. Well, I suppose it’s a shack out that way,” Ranboo gestured, “but I was just seeing what trades your villagers had, if that’s ok?”  
“Yeah, that’s fine, you just gave me a shock. I didn’t exactly expect to see you here when I got back, but it’s fine.” He began making a clicking motion repeatedly and started to relax. Now that he’d calmed down, he noticed that the black and white person was completely tensed up, barely even moving to breathe, with their tail wrapped around their leg. That wasn’t good, he hadn’t meant to scare them. He really needed to get better at this people stuff.

“Oh that’s good, I was afraid you were going to attack me for a minute,” they chuckled, clearly still just as on edge as before.  
“I was,” he replied.  
They stepped back. In a shaky voice, they said “Ah. Well, there’s nothing else I need to be here for, so I guess I’ll head back to my place then-“  
“Wait.” Technoblade reached out and grabbed their arm, “Wait that didn’t come out right,” he said and looked at Ranboo, who was… trembling? “I- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have grabbed you, or-“ he could hear Ranboo’s breathing, uneven and quick, and swore briefly under his breath, “I’m sorry. Can we, uh, try this again? I didn’t mean to scare you, it just caught me off guard, and I meant to explain that better but I didn’t and I shouldn’t have grabbed you because you were clearly scared and I’m sorry.” He let go of Ranboo and breathed out, cursing himself internally.  
“Yeah, sorry, I’m just… a little nervous after the festival I guess. I also shouldn’t have been afraid, cause you didn’t do anything wrong, I just overreacted, heh,” they said, and Techno frowned. He hesitated for a moment, realising what he must seem like to Ranboo. A monster, a terrible person who would kill and destroy without hesitation. God, of course they had been afraid of him.

“No, don’t apologise. I… it’s understandable to… fear me, I guess. You didn’t overreact,” he said, trying to choose his words carefully this time. Why were they even living with him? If he terrified them so much, why were they here? “Are you doing ok? Now, I mean?” he asked.  
“I’m doing alright now I think. I’ve been thinking, I should probably upgrade my house a little. I don’t want it to be too big, it’d ruin the scenery, but some walls might be nice. Do you, uh, want to join me? Or are you busy?” Ranboo replied. Techno thought for a moment, not wanting to further scare them, then let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and nodded.  
“Yeah, that would be… nice. Is wood a good choice? I can go and get some from my chest,” he offered.  
“No it’s ok, I can go and gather some, you don’t have to use your wood,” they declined.  
“I’m not doing any more gathering Ranboo, and it’s fine with me to use my wood. Besides, you’re living with me and Phil now right? I’d be a bad neighbour if I made you build your own house. I’ll grab some spruce wood and then we can go and get started, ok?” Techno turned around to look in his chests, and wondered why he cared so much about this tall, somewhat gangly child that was now smiling in a confused manner. He shook it off, picked up some wood and looked back up at them. Their tail was swishing gently. “Let’s get going then,” he smiled, and they walked out into the snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you liked that, next chapter will be a little less angsty I think, and I have No Idea when it will turn up I apologise, but hopefully soon :)


	2. A New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno, Phil and Ranboo build a house.

Technoblade was confused. He had just nearly attacked and terrified a seven foot tall, half enderman child, and now they were building a house together. They were being almost… Domestic. He knew that Ranboo still didn’t completely feel safe around him, their long ears flattening every time Techno initiated a conversation without warning – he needed to get better at not doing that, but it’s hard if they’re in different places and busy, and he didn’t know an alternative yet. But they were making light conversation, talking about what was going to be where in the new house, discussing what the layout would be, whether Ranboo wanted any decorations (they said they didn’t need them, but Techno was planning to offer some anyway), and generally seeming casual. It was strange, doing this with someone other than Phil. Even when Tommy was here, they both seemed on edge most of the time and neither had tried to hide that fact. But Techno could almost relax here. Almost.

“Do you want a second floor? Just one seems a little cramped I think. Or maybe if we make a slanted roof you can have an attic?” he called down to Ranboo, who was digging a basement below the ground floor.  
“Yeah, an attic sounds like a good idea, I could sleep there and have a main area on the ground floor maybe,” they replied. “I’m almost done down here, I just need to push this wall back a bit and then decorate. I might use it as storage? But yeah an attic sounds good, thank you,”  
“Ok, I’ll do that once this floor is ready- Oh I see Phil over at my house, hey Phil!” he greeted brightly.  
“What’s up?” Phil smiled as he walked over. “I see you’re building Ranboo a house?”  
“Yeah, we figured we could upgrade from a shack, it seemed a little harsh to not even have walls – do you want to come help?”  
“Yeah sure, do you need any help Ranboo?” he asked.  
“No, I’m good thanks. Technoblade might need a hand with the roof though,” they replied, tail starting to wave gently.  
“Ok, sounds good.”  
Ranboo started to hum as Phil stretched out his wings to fly up, then paused, remembering. His wings were still damaged from the first destruction of L’Manberg, bandages carefully wrapped around them at intervals. He sighed and started building his way up to the top of the walls, the tune Ranboo   
“Right, there we go,” Phil said, mostly to himself. The two built for a few moments in silence, settling into the rhythm and each other’s company.

Phil broached the quiet first.  
“I didn’t realise you were both here already, I meant to be here to help… make your guys’ meeting easier. Meeting isn’t the word, you’ve met of course, but you know what I mean. You seem to be doing alright?”  
“…Yeah. I messed up a bit at first, but I think we’re ok?” Techno faltered. “I, uh, I think I scared them. And then I grabbed them trying to fix it. But then I apologised and they asked if I wanted to help build them a proper house and so that’s what we’ve been doing?”  
“Ok, well it seems to have worked out at least. Why did you scare them?” Phil queried, a note of concern pricking his voice.  
“I didn’t mean to, I just…’ His voice rose, walls building behind his words. “I came back and they were there, and it made me jump, and the voices starting screaming and I nearly… I nearly attacked them Phil.” He softened slightly before continuing. “But then they said hello, and it kind of knocked me out of it. But I was still coming down from the rush, and when they said they thought I was about to attack them, I just said that I was. I can’t believe I… And I realised I must be terrifying to them. You would be too, if you weren’t so nice all the time. But I’m not nice. I just tried to destroy them, all their friends, and everything they owned. Of course they fear me. I’m… horrifying.”  
“No, Techno. You were led to do what you did, and you were right in doing it. L’Manberg needed to be taken down. Please don’t ever think you’re a monster, Techno, you are so much more than that, ok? You have been through so much, and you have somehow remained kind. You could never be horrifying to anyone who actually knew you.” Phil paused building and reached out his hand to put it on Techno’s shoulder, hesitating before placing it until Techno nodded softly. “You hear me?”

“…Yeah,” he frowned, and shook his head for a second.  
“Good. But Ranboo pulled you out of it? Damn, I thought I was the only one who could still do that. You care about them a lot then?” Phil questioned gently.  
“Yes- No- I’m… not sure. I don’t know why, but I think I might care about them. It doesn’t make any sense,” he said, starting to pace, “I don’t even know them, they’ve done nothing for me, but for some reason I-“ he faltered, sighed, and murmured resignedly, “I care. And that scares me. After Tommy I- I don’t know if I’m ready. It’s not even been a week, I just- I’m scared, Phil. I’m scared the same thing will happen. They could just leave, and if I let myself care it will hurt so much Phil.” He stopped abruptly, and shook his head.   
“Techno…” he began slowly, “you don’t need to do anything you’re not ready for. But you trust me, right? You care about me, or there’s no way you’d be opening up to me. You can still care. It’s not too late,” he nudged.  
“Yeah. I’ll… I’ll try. Not yet. But I will.” He paused. “…I’ll try. Thank you, Phil,” he conceded.  
“That’s ok, kiddo. Now, do you want to help me finish this roof, or are you gonna keep standing there like a confused pebble?” he challenged lightly. Techno opened his mouth to make a snarky retort, then realised that he hadn’t actually built anything since Phil arrived. He looked up, and noticed that Phil had created the roof with a large skylight, leaving the sunset casting long shadows, the colours dancing gradually around their heads.

“…Yeah, ok, I got a bit distracted, sorry,” he acquiesced as he started to place some roof. There wasn’t really much left to do, but he felt slightly bad about not helping at all, and figured he might as well do what he could.  
“That’s understandable, don’t worry about it. Hey Ranboo, how’s the basement going?” Phil smiled and called down.  
“It’s going great! I think I’m finished down here. How’s the roof?” they replied.  
“Come up here, I think you’ll like it,” he grinned. It was only a few seconds before the red and green eyes were wide at the sight of the sun sinking drowsily below the snow-covered hills.  
“It’s beautiful, thank you Phil,” Ranboo beamed, and Techno’s heart started to melt for just a second before he remembered to close it off. Not yet.  
“I’m glad you liked it, kiddo. This is your new home now. I was thinking we’d place your bed just here so you could see the stars…”  
Techno let their voices fade out, and smiled quietly. Maybe things could be different this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow ok, y'all liked this apparently-
> 
> I didn't expect this much attention, but I'm glad you're enjoying it. Thanks for all your support, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last one :)


	3. An Unexpected Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranboo, Phil and Techno decorate together.

Yawning, Techno wandered out his front door to go visit Ranboo. Phil had left a note saying that he’d gone already, but the ink was still damp, so he hadn’t slept in too much. Blinking in the glare of the wintry landscape, he started making his way around the back. He took a moment to appreciate the view – two (and a half) cottages nestled at the base of snowy hills that protected from the wind. Ranboo’s house was finished, but they hadn’t decorated yet. It wouldn’t take long, but Phil was keen on helping Ranboo to settle in, so Techno was helping too.

  
The soft crunch of his footsteps gave way to tapping on the new wooden floor as he entered Ranboo’s house. As predicted, Phil and Ranboo were already inside, setting up some basics.  
“Heya,” Techno greeted them.  
“Hiya Techno,” Phil replied genially, “you found my note then?”  
“Yeah, I hope I’m not too late. You guys seem to be doing alright here,” he said. “Also hey Ranboo,”  
“Hi, yeah, we’re alright,” Ranboo nodded.  
“We finished upstairs, it was only a bed and a couple of storage chests so it didn’t take long. Now we’re just sorting out some of the essentials down here. If you want, you can get started in the basement – it just needs some of the larger chests and there’s an armour stand here to set up. We’ll still be able to talk, it’s only one floor,” Phil explained.  
“Alright, I’ll go do that then,” Techno said, walking over to grab the first chest. “How long have you guys been up for?”  
“Oh, not long, only an hour or two – you saw the stew for breakfast right?” Phil replied.  
“Yeah, it was delicious, thank you,” Techno smiled. Phil making breakfast was a common occurrence now, but it was still nice to have someone make sure he didn’t just have an apple and move on with his day.  
“I actually had Ranboo to help me this morning,” Phil said, and Techno could hear the note of pride in his voice.  
“Well, I didn’t do much, I just chopped some vegetables,” Ranboo deflected, “Phil did most of it, I just felt bad leaving him to do it on his own when I was awake anyway,”  
“Thank you as well,” Techno acknowledged, and they laughed a little. Damn, why was this kid so nice? He knew Phil would’ve been faster on his own, but of course he’d still let Ranboo help, not wanting to let them down. It must have been a nice bonding moment. He felt a pang of longing at having missed it, but shook his head briefly and brushed the thought away.  
They worked in amicable silence for a while, and soon the house had everything it needed.

  
“Hey, Ranboo, do you want some carpet in the entrance?” Techno asked.  
“I don’t really need it-“  
“No, I asked if you wanted it. I was thinking like a chessboard design in red and green?” he cut them off.  
“You don’t need to use your carpet, it’s ok-“  
“Ranboo. Do you want it? Or not?” he enunciated firmly, trying to make sure the kindness behind the words carried through.  
“…yes please, if it’s alright?” they said, looking down and fidgeting uncomfortably.  
“It’s perfectly alright. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have offered, would I, hm?” Techno smiled gently.  
“Actually, I also have something I was planning for decoration as well,” Phil added, and took a feather from somewhere within his robes. It was charcoal black, and about as long as his forearm.  
“Is that-“ Ranboo started, and Phil nodded.  
“It’s one of my feathers. It moulted off naturally a few days ago, but I thought you might like it to put it up somewhere?”  
“It- It’s beautiful,” they murmured softly, as if speaking too loud would cause it to crumble into dust and be lost to the wind. They suddenly stood up straight, visibly brightening. “I actually have some gifts for you guys as well! Hold on, I’ll go grab them from upstairs,” and they dashed for the stairs, grinning.  
Techno was thoroughly caught off guard. He hadn’t expected Phil to give a gift, though it wasn’t exactly surprising for him, but he really hadn’t anticipated a gift from Ranboo – maybe to Phil, but certainly not to him. He should probably start planning to make it up somehow, probably with a gift himself. But what? …Fuck. The sound of Ranboo jumping down the ladder stopped his thoughts abruptly.

  
“Ok, for Phil, I have this shield that I enchanted with, well, a whole bunch of stuff,” they said, passing a shield over to the winged man with remarkable ease, “and for Technoblade I have the axe of peace? Kind of? I made an axe and put the same enchantments on it that the axe of peace had, but you can call it whatever you want.” They stopped and looked at them expectantly, tail flicking from side to side.  
“I- uh- well-“ Techno stammered, flushing and starting to click quietly but rapidly.  
“Thank you so much Ranboo, this is an incredible gift – I hope never to need to use it, but I’m sure it will protect me one day. Thank you,” Phil said, voice warm with gratitude. He looked at Techno expectantly.  
“I- thank you, Ranboo it really uh-“ he paused, emotion swelling before crashing into him. “It uh, it means a lot. I wasn’t expecting this, but uh, it’ll do? I think?” He felt bad about deflecting, but also if the rush of feelings came out now, he’d be a mess, and he wasn’t ready for that. The clicking was becoming more apparent as Phil frowned, and looked him in the eye. Techno shrunk away, but knew Phil had seen the uncharacteristic gleam in his eyes. “I’m gonna have to go now, I need to grab something, I- this looks bad but thank you and I’m sorry,” he managed, before turning and almost running back to his house.

  
The tears were escaping before he even reached the door. He swore briefly, and leant against the wood, letting go of his defences and freeing the sea of emotions behind them. Thankfully, Phil didn’t follow him, leaving him in peace to try and come to terms with it. It hit him, all of a sudden, that Ranboo had willingly given him a weapon. Something he was known for using for spreading violence and fear. And yet they had trusted him enough to replace one he had lost – no, not replace it. Something to fill the gap, yes, but not to be what it once was. Somehow, Ranboo was perceptive enough to realise the emotional weight, and not attempt to try and imitate it. God dammit this kid was somehow more mature than he was. Then again, guess he wasn’t so scary now, crying in his house alone. Maybe he should just let this happen. Phil clearly wanted it, and Ranboo seemed to as well. And he, well, he… wanted it a little, maybe. Well, he needed to get a return gift at the very least. But what did Ranboo even like? Now that was a question that would be important to investigate. He shook his head, and started thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok sorry the end note for the first chapter is messed up, if anyone knows how to fix it please let me know
> 
> But yeah I'm glad you guys are enjoying it, I was writing the gift scene Literally just before the canon gift giving happened lmao, I've tried to reflect some of the canon but keep my interpretations of the characters consistent for this fic, so I hope that went ok
> 
> Thanks again for all the support! :)


	4. A Welcome Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno finds a suitable gift.

Techno had been pacing for some time. He’d left the house for a while, having not spoken to anyone since the gift incident. After making his way into the nether, he realised he didn’t have a destination, so had just kind of stopped at the first crossroads. He felt a pang of guilt at leaving Phil and Ranboo so suddenly, but he needed some time to process. Also he needed to get a gift. What did Ranboo even like? He wracked his brain for a moment, trying to recall the conversations they’d had, and remembered Ranboo mentioning a music disc to Phil. That could work? He just needed a music disc.

Over the course of several hours, he returned to the overworld and lured a reasonable amount of creepers into a small pen, and a skeleton in a different one. Standing behind the creepers from the skeleton, he waited until the skeleton shot enough creepers to get the disc he had in mind. He was looking for chirp – it was reasonably upbeat and certainly the most welcoming-sounding. He had debated getting pigstep, but thought that it might be a bit on the nose and also that Ranboo probably wouldn’t enjoy listening to it, so chirp was probably a better choice.

Rounding up creepers for hours gave him plenty of time to think, and while he tried to avoid the topic, it inevitably came up. The fact that Ranboo had given him a gift. Why did it affect him so much? It was just like a payment for letting them stay there, a thanks for allowing them to live near him and Phil. So why did it make him cry? He tried to remember the last time someone gave him a gift – Phil did nice things most days, but had never given him a physical thing of his own to have. He couldn’t actually remember even getting birthday gifts, since no-one else knew when it was. At Christmas, the only thing he’d received was quite possibly from Ranboo, but not specifically for him. Everything he owned, he had made himself. Except, now, this axe. This was the first gift he’d had in years. The rush of emotion that had swept him up made more sense now.

After about 10 creepers had been shot, he found chirp. He picked it up, and placed it in a jukebox. He listened for about a minute, nodded, took the disc back and started to make his way home, but paused. He had just left Ranboo and Phil with no explanation, after not even thanking Ranboo properly for the axe. …Well, guess he was apologising when he got back. He started on his journey again, a kernel of dread tight in his chest.

As he approached his house, Phil came to greet him. With his wings spread wide, he was an intimidating figure.  
“Techno, what the fuck was that?” he exclaimed. “I can’t believe you just left like that! For hours, Techno! I understand that the gift bothered you, but you can’t just give a half-hearted thank you and fuck off for however long! Do you have any idea how hard it’s been to console Ranboo after that?” Techno’s attempts to break into the tirade were unsuccessful, but eventually he just put his hand up and waited. Eventually, Phil realised, and stopped. “What can you possibly have to say for yourself?” he demanded.  
“I wasn’t angry-“ he started, but was swiftly cut off.  
“Well you sure looked like it-“  
“Phil. Let me finish. I hadn’t expected a gift, and it raised a surprising number of positive emotions, Phil, positive not negative. I was about to cry, and well, heh. You know how I am with emotion.” Phil smiled sadly at this. “I then did go and cry for twenty minutes. Then I went to go get a gift for Ranboo in return. I’m going to give it to them as soon as we’re done here. I don’t want them to get the wrong impression, so what did you say to console them?” Techno explained.  
“Oh… I complimented them and also said it wasn’t their fault you were angry, but I don’t think they believed me.” Techno pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply, pushing down the voices of frustration.  
“Ok. Alright. This will take some work, but I’m gonna do it. Ok. I’ll see you later then.” He turned and walked away as Phil called after him,  
“Good luck kiddo!”

He knocked on the door of Ranboo’s house. They came to the door smiling, but their face fell as they saw it was Techno, ears flattening and tail drooping. Techno braced himself, took a breath, and said,  
“Hi. Uh. I’m not good at this, but uh, I’m sorry.” He paused for a second, and Ranboo started speaking before he could finish his point.  
“You don’t have to apologise you know. I know it’s only ‘cause Phil asked you to, so you don’t have to pretend if he’s not here. I’m the one who should have asked first before giving you something.” They dropped their head and started to turn back around. Techno reached to grab them, then remembered what had happened last time and let his arm fall.  
“Ranboo,” He simply said. The half-enderman looked back at him, starting to tremble, clearly anticipating something. Techno stored that particular fact to think about later, but it wasn’t going to go well if he thought too hard about it now, so he moved on. “I was never angry at you. Phil misunderstood. Your gift really did mean a lot to me, and I was going to cry-“ His voice faltered on the last phrase, so he coughed, shook his head, and tried again. “I was going to cry. So I panicked and ran. I’m really sorry that I scared you or made you feel bad, it wasn’t my intention, and I hope you can forgive me. I’m going to treasure this axe for a long time.” He looked up at Ranboo, who was… crying? Oh shit, he’d fucked it up again. The voices agreed, whispering in his head. Through their tears, Ranboo quietly asked,  
“Can I- can I hug you?”

Techno blinked. This was so impossibly far from what he had expected. Somewhat in a daze, he nodded, and they stepped forward and wrapped their arms around him gently. Almost automatically, Techno reciprocated, and the two stood there for a moment. They were warm, and a tear slipped from Techno’s eye. As quickly as it began, Ranboo let go and Techno followed suit, rubbing his eyes as he did so.  
“Thanks,” Ranboo smiled, suddenly seeming free from all worry despite their eyes still gleaming with tears, head tilted slightly to the side.  
“Thanks,” Techno echoed, and realised he’d completely forgotten about his gift for them. “Here, I wanted you to have this,” he said, pulling out the disc. “It’s chirp, I uh, I thought you might like it? It’s what I was finding when I was gone.” Ranboo beamed at this, taking the disc in both hands.  
“Thank you so much Technoblade, I’ll display it with Phil’s feather in my room,” they thanked him.  
“Well, thanks. I hope you enjoy it. I guess I’d uh, better be going now, heh” Techno replied, flushing slightly with pride and awkwardness.  
“Ok, I’ll see you around, and thanks again,” they said, still grinning. He nodded, and started the walk back to his house. The sun was starting to set, the clouds painted in pale pinks and bright oranges and warm yellows. Techno smiled, and went home. Due to the gift incident, he’d missed lunch, so he definitely needed to catch up now. He hoped Phil was cooking again, and the smell as he pulled open the door confirmed it. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, before opening them again and stepping inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I fixed the end note, thanks to the person who commented to help!
> 
> But yeah thanks for all your support, I'm really enjoying writing this so it's cool that y'all are enjoying reading it :)


	5. A Sudden Disturbance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno hears something in the night.

Someone was crying. Techno sat upright, bleary-eyed and squinting into the darkness, and tried to discern where the noise was coming from. It was faint, and he couldn’t tell from where he was. It was the scream that had woken him up though, ringing through the hills in sheer terror. The crying was too far away to be in the house, so he stood up and looked outside. The night still had its hold firmly over the landscape, but at least he now knew the noise was coming from behind the house. It only took a second for his brain to realise. Ranboo.

Sprinting downstairs, he grabbed his cloak and ran outside towards their house. His mind was racing, the voices screaming in his head – what had happened? Was Ranboo ok? Was someone here to attack them? Who would that be? Would he be at Ranboo’s house in time? Weirdly, the voices were actually in disagreement, some screaming to give in to the rage that was pulsing through him at the thought of someone harming Ranboo and to join them, get lost in the blood, kill everyone, as usual. However, others were urging him to protect the child from anyone who would dare touch them, begging him to tear anyone who threatened them limb from limb. But now wasn’t the time to think about that.

He saw that the inside was still dark and there were no signs of forced entry, and he hadn’t heard any sounds of fighting, so it probably wasn’t an intruder, though the voices insisted it must be. What that did mean was that Ranboo had made that noise by himself for some reason, which was, in a sense, scarier. Techno could fight an opponent, sure, but how could he fight something in Ranboo’s head? The cold wind pricked at his cheeks, but he barely noticed. He arrived at the door and knocked three times rapidly. After a minute or so, Ranboo came to the door, still clearly upset, tail perfectly still, but trying to smile.  
“Are you ok?” Techno asked immediately. They nodded in response. “Are you sure?” Another nod. “Can you tell me that in words?” he tried, and Ranboo opened their mouth, but instead of words, a choked sob came out. “Hey now, it’s ok, would you like me to hug you?” he offered, and they wordlessly leant into him, still crying silently. He wrapped his arms around them, and they stood there, Techno gently reassuring him for what seemed like an hour. “It’ll be alright, ya hear me? I’ve got now, ok, it’s ok, I’ve got you, I promise,”

After what was probably about a minute, Phil arrived, and Techno deferred to his expertise in these sorts of situations – after all, Phil was essentially an adoptive father to at least three or four different people, Techno himself included. He knew what to do in these situations. Ranboo looked up to see that it was Phil, but made no move to leave Techno’s arms. It was then that it struck Techno that he’d just made a promise. It wasn’t exactly a huge one, but he didn’t make promises. He just didn’t. He never wanted to owe anyone, and a promise is a permanent debt to pay. He hadn’t even realised he’d done it, but he did know he had meant it. He shook his head a little, not able to move much with Ranboo so close.  
“Hey kiddo, how about we go inside and then we can sort all this out, it’s far too cold to stay here without proper gear,” Phil suggested, and Techno kept hold of Ranboo’s hand as they separated to walk further inside. He would have put his arm around their shoulders, but unfortunately they were at least half a foot too tall for that. They made their way inside and sat down in the main living space. Ranboo leant against Phil as Techno sat on their other side.

“So, what’s been going on here then, hm?” Phil queried. In a very small voice, they replied,  
“Nightmares.” Phil nodded, and held them close. Techno knew what they were talking about. With all they’d all been through, it would make sense that it would affect them for a while. They all put on a brave face during the day, but there was no-one to hide it from at night. Techno tended to wake up full of adrenaline, voices screaming, reaching for a sword that wasn’t there, but it seemed Ranboo tended more towards screaming themselves awake. Thinking about it, he wasn’t sure what Phil did. Presumably something similar to him, as he had never heard anything, he guessed.  
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Phil said, and they shook their head a little. “Alright then. Do you want us to stay here?” Ranboo nodded and hiccupped. Phil lifted one arm to gently ruffle their hair, which seemed to have a calming effect, so he left it there. “We’re not going anywhere ok, kiddo? We’ll stay here as long as you need.” The three of them stayed like that for the rest of the night, Ranboo in Phil’s arms, Techno still holding their hand, all asleep before too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was fun huh
> 
> Thanks again for the overwhelmingly positive response to this, I think this might be my favourite chapter so far even if it is kinda short :)


	6. A Loyal Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranboo, Techno and Phil do something about the dogs.

The three of them woke up the next day in various states of pain – Techno’s hand was dead, Ranboo’s neck was stiff and sore, and Phil had done something to his back. None of them regretted it.  
“Ranboo, if you ever need one of us, send up a firework – pink for Techno, green for me, and purple for both of us. We’ll make a whole load today so you can have them by tonight, ok?” Phil said, and Ranboo nodded.  
“Listen, if you ever need me for anything, whether it’s nightmares or anything, just send up one of those ok? I will come, and I won’t be mad,” Techno added, emphasising every word.  
“O-ok,” Ranboo agreed. They started to walk back to Techno’s house to make breakfast together.

“Hey, when are you gonna do something about all those dogs Techno?” Phil asked.  
“Oh yeah, that’s a good point. I should probably name them or something. Actually, Phil, do you want a dog?” he replied.  
“Heck yeah, shall we go in and choose one each after breakfast? We can each have our own dog, and then we’ll just name the rest and leave them there,” he suggested.  
“Sounds good,” Techno replied. They all went inside, and Phil made an apple pie for breakfast. Ranboo insisting on helping and was tasked with chopping apples while Phil made pastry. Techno mostly watched – any time he got near a stove, he tended to burn something, whether it was the food inside, himself, or notably half a kitchen once before it was put out. And knives weren’t the safest thing for him to use, what with the voices and all. He helped clean up while the pie was baking though, and it wasn’t long before it was ready.

As always, the pie was delicious, flaky pastry and tart but sweet apples, and a generous sprinkling of sugar on top. Once they’d finished, Techno grabbed a handful of name tags, and Phil and Ranboo did the same.  
“Ok, which dog do you want Phil?” Techno asked. Phil wandered around the half-built house, and settled on one near the back. He wrote ‘Elliot’ on the tag and wrapped it round the dog’s neck.  
“I think this one,” he said, smiling. “Hey there Elliot. Looks like you’re with me now. We should put these on leads actually, or we’re definitely gonna lose them in the crowd,”  
“Yeah that’s a good point, I think I picked some up when we left – yeah, here they are,” Techno agreed, reaching into his cloak, and pulling out a lead. He gave it to Phil, who attached Elliot to it.  
“Ok your turn, Techno, choose a dog,” Phil urged excitedly. Techno hummed and surveyed the army of dogs. He saw a small-looking one in the middle, and decided against his better nature to pick that one. Normally he’d go for the biggest dog, but for some reason he found himself wanting to give the littler one a chance.  
“I think… Alice,” he said, scrawling the name on the tag and carefully tying it round her collar. “Ok Ranboo, your turn.” Ranboo stared at them blankly for a moment.  
“My- my turn?” they asked.  
“Yeah, kiddo, your turn. What, you thought me and Techno were gonna pick a dog right in front of you and not let you pick one as well?” Phil replied, equally confused. Ranboo hesitated, then nodded slightly before bowing their head, tail low and still.  
“Oh, kid, of course you can – you’re with us now, not a guest or anything. Now go on, pick a dog,” Techno said, and ruffled their hair. They nodded again, still seeming a little lost, but they wandered forward into the crowd of hounds. One of them snuffled at their hand, and they grinned a little despite themself, tail swishing slowly of its own accord.  
“This one. I don’t know what to call him yet, but this one,” they said, stroking its head. Techno passed them a lead, and they attached it to the dog’s collar. He and Phil just watched for a minute as they stroked the dog, lost in thought.

“Ok, what are we doing about the rest of them?” Phil wondered aloud, and Ranboo looked up, realising how much time had passed. “Should we name them all? Or just leave them here?”  
“The voices can help me name them. They always have something to say about whatever I’m doing. If you want to add to the name ideas, go for it,” Techno offered. “It’s not like we don’t have enough nametags, heh,”  
“Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see what the voices come up with,” Ranboo agreed.  
“I’m down with that,” Phil added.  
“Ok, let the naming commence. That one is Gregoriah,” Techno said, pointing at a nearby dog.  
“Wow, Gregoriah? Alright,” Phil laughed, and Techno grinned.  
“Hey, I never said the voices had good ideas, did I?” he replied.  
“Oh God,” Ranboo sighed, voice shaking with barely contained laughter. That set Techno laughing, and both Ranboo and Phil gave in to the hilarity. After a minute or so of howling, sides aching, they calmed down again.  
“Alright Techno, next name,” Phil announced. Techno thought for a moment, opened his mouth to say it, and paused.  
“Uh. Beef-“ he managed before bending over forward in hysterics. Ranboo wheezed and started laughing with him, as did Phil.  
“Tech- Techno what the fuck was that!” Phil exclaimed, still laughing.  
“I don’t know Phil, ask the voices,” Techno snickered in reply.  
“Ok, take some deep breaths guys,” Ranboo suggested, distinctly not following their own advice.  
“Alright, ok,” Phil acquiesced, and they all took a moment to stop laughing. After a few escaped chuckles sent them all collapsing again, they managed to stay stable enough to start naming dogs again without losing it.

Eventually, all the dogs were named, the quality varying. Zachariah wasn’t so bad, but Lordington was a struggle not to laugh at. Ranboo seemed very happy with their dog and had eventually decided on Milo as a name.  
“Well, me and Techno are gonna make some fireworks, do you want to help?” Phil asked.  
“No, I’ve got… Some other stuff to do. I’ll see you guys later though,” they said.  
“Bye then kiddo!” Phil called, and Ranboo walked away with Milo. “Right, fireworks it is then,”  
“Yeah, let’s get started,” Techno smiled. It was going to be a good day, he thought to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok ok I'd like to mention the fact that I'm uh. Way behind on canon - I know I'm mostly ignoring it for this fic anyway, but there isn't gonna be much reference to jokes, minor or major plot points cause I'm 15+ hours of stream behind, so please don't expect that - I don't mind if you reference it in comments, whether that would be a spoiler or not, but just be warned :)
> 
> but yeah I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)


	7. A Found Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno, Phil and Ranboo have a campfire.

Phil and Techno had been making fireworks for several hours, joking about the creeper that seemed determined to make its way into the house and the dogs that kept getting in the way. However, almost inevitably, the conversation wandered its way to Ranboo.  
“They’re a good kid,” Phil said, and Techno nodded.  
“…Yeah. I’m glad they’re here. I think… If they were anywhere else, it wouldn’t have been good for them. They’ve only just stopped flinching at the sound of shouting, and I think the remoteness of this place has helped them cope,” he agreed.  
“Yeah, I think this place has been good for them. You’ve been good for them, I think,” Phil added, and Techno looked up at him quizzically.  
“Me? I haven’t been that great,” he deflected.  
“Well, you’ve done quite a lot. You made sure they knew they could express what they wanted, that they didn’t have to manage with the bare minimum, showed them respect, owned up to your mistakes, and most importantly, you’ve managed to get them to trust you despite their original fear of you. That’s not an easy feat, and most people in this world seemed to have failed them in all of those things. To help them unlearn it is incredible, Techno.” Phil insisted. Techno shook his head and thought for a minute. He hadn’t really done that much, had he? He’d messed up time and time again but - Ranboo trusted him enough to hug him when they were terrified last night. If that wasn’t trust, he didn’t really know what was. Huh.

“Well, maybe,” he acquiesced.  
“They’ve really managed to make you soft, haven’t they,” Phil ribbed him.  
“Yeah, I think they have,” Techno smiled gently, before switching back to a joking tone. “Alright Phil, we can keep them,”  
“Finally Techno! Anyway can I bring Tubbo home-“  
“No.”  
“Alright,” he laughed. “But seriously, I’m happy for you both that you’ve managed to open up. It can’t have been easy, but it’s been good for both of you.” Techno opened his mouth to deny it, paused, and shut it again.  
“…Ok yeah, I agree,” he admitted. “I guess… I care about them. There, I said it. Thanks for bringing them home, Phil,”  
“Wow, that was more than I expected you to say – but I’m glad. I think… it might be time I formally ask if they want me to adopt them. They’ll still live in their house, I think they appreciate having their own space, but they’ll be one of us. Is that alright with you?” Phil asked.  
“Yeah, that sounds good. You’re not gonna ask Tommy and Wilbur as well?” Techno questioned back.  
“Well, after what Tommy did, I’m not sure he’d want to input on this decision, and Wilbur - the Wilbur that I raised, I mean – is dead. So no, I think it’ll just be us choosing this,” he explained.  
“Alright. How are you gonna do it?” he smiled.  
“I was thinking a campfire tonight, so we can do it then,” Phil grinned. Techno let himself get excited. Tonight was going to be good.

By nightfall, the fireworks were made, Phil had made some rabbit stew and a pumpkin pie, the campfire was built, the dogs were safely away, and Ranboo was just arriving back home.  
“Hiya Ranboo!” Phil called, sticking his head out the door so he could be heard.  
“Hi! What’s this?” they replied, gesturing to the unlit campfire, which had ended up around 3 feet tall. Their tail flicked towards it as they moved their arm. Techno looked up, having heard their voices, and replied,  
“Hey Ranboo, it’s gonna be a campfire. We were waiting for you to get here before we light it, but you should tie Milo up first – he might not know fire isn’t safe,”  
“Oh, cool,” they said, tying Milo to a fence post by the house, quickly scratching around his ears before walking over.  
“Hey Phil, get over here,” Techno grinned. Phil emerged from the house, bringing a large pot and some bowls.  
“I’ve left the pie in there for now cause it’ll stay the right temperature, but we can get it later. For now, who wants some stew?” Ranboo raised their hand, and Phil ladled a large helping of steaming stew, the wonderful smell quickly overtaking the air around them.  
“I’m just gonna get the fire going, but I’ll get some afterwards,” Techno said, pulling out a flint and steel and starting to make sparks at the base. The sparks flickered into a flame, illuminating his face in the darkness. Soon, the whole campfire was ablaze, crackling and popping and gloriously warm in the icy night.

“So, Ranboo,” Phil began after they’d all finished their stew, “we’ve been thinking, and there’s something we’d like to ask you.” They started to tremble slightly, ears flattening slightly.  
“If you want to know where I was, it was getting something, and I can’t tell you what, sorry,” they said, voice shaking slightly.  
“No, it’s ok, you can do what you want with your time, and if you don’t want to tell us that’s fine. I trust you not to be betraying us, so don’t worry about it,” Phil explained gently, and Ranboo tilted their head to the side and scrunched up their eyebrows, but nodded.  
“What we wanted to ask was whether you wanted to formally join our family? You’re certainly not the first child Phil’s brought home, but I guess this would make it more official?” Techno offered. Ranboo’s eyes widened, and tears started forming.  
“Really?” they half-whispered, and Techno nodded and smiled.  
“Yes, really kiddo,” he confirmed. They started to properly cry, and Techno stood up and allowed them to half-fall into a hug. Despite the fact that Ranboo was definitely the taller of the two, they still managed to seem small in his arms. In a quiet, shaky voice, they said,  
“Yes,” and that was that. Phil came over and hugged the both of them, and Techno found a few traitorous tears on his own face. Then again, maybe it was good to be letting out some emotion. After all, he had a new sibling now. The family all stood there for some time, marvelling at the fact that they’d found each other, that they were here, that they were safe. No-one dared end the moment, until Techno realised the fire was going to go out, and that it would soon be very cold if that happened. They all broke away, and Techno started to add more firewood to the dying blaze.

“Oh, I forgot!” Ranboo suddenly exclaimed. “Here, I got these for you both! One for Phil, one for Technoblade,” He handed each of them a grass block. “I heard these were hard to come by, so I thought it’d be a nice gift, and I picked these up while I was out,” they said, beaming.  
“Thank you, Ranboo,” Phil replied.  
“Yeah, it’s very cool, I have no idea how you did this, but thanks – I’ll put it in my house later,” Techno agreed. “Also, you can just call me Techno y’know? After all, we’re family now.”  
“Ok then. Techno it is. Thank you,” they said, smiling.  
Techno smiled back. The voices were blissfully quiet, but he could tell they were happy. Things could be different this time. He turned back to the fire, gently blew on it, and the flames grew back to their rightful strength, spreading over the new wood and stretching up to the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's all from me folks, I really hope you enjoyed it and that this was a good ending. It's really been great to write this and have all your feedback, it's just been a wonderful time all round. Thank you all. :)
> 
> And if you want more Techno and Ranboo found family content, I may or may not be planning another, more plot based, fantasy fic. It'll be pretty different to this one in a lot of ways, but I wanted to write more Techno and Ranboo stuff and my motivation and amount of ideas for this one were running out, so I'm doing something different that'll still hopefully give the same serotonin, and the first chapter will probably be out in a week or two :)


End file.
